[A/N: Dedication to rebekka_mickaelson for being absolutely amazing. Songs for the chapter:
- Florence + The Machine // Cosmic Love
- Birdy // Tee Shirt
- Demi Lovato // What To Do]

Nerves prickled through my skin and the hairs on my nape stood tall, alert at each word that came out of Ms Smith's thin lips. Her words failed to reach me as if my head was submerged in water so I edged closer to Tyler, tiptoeing to catch a glimpse of her over his broad shoulders.

"Chill Ash," He whispered over his shoulder, casting me a brief glance before turning to the front again.

"I can't!"

How could I relax when were going to bake our semester's work for the entire class to taste and judge before it was to be graded by Ms Smith?

Our Home Economics class currently stood in a single file outside the classroom, impatiently waiting for Ms Smith's recitation of the rules before we progressed into the final practical lesson. Nobody wanted to go first but with a clipboard and pen, our teacher barked the names of each pair and beckoned them to enter the room to begin. The order that each pair entered the room determined the reverse order that the cakes would be graded.

And we were first.

That meant our cake would be graded last which was either really good or really, really bad.

Panic graced my features when I detached myself from my partner's side and sloped past the long line of students, unnerved by the weight of their gazes as I shot into the classroom and dumped my bag onto my desk. Stripping off my coat, I toyed at the hemline of Tyler's aqua jersey and he rose an eyebrow at my choice of outfit.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I breathed as he loped an apron over my head, silencing me by brushing his fingertips over my nape.

"No reason," He smiled softly to himself and stepped back, gripping my hand and dragging me to our work station at the far back of the classroom.

We stood in silence as all the other groups piled into the classroom and stood behind their graphite counters like we were on a cookery show.

"Okay class, you know all the rules," Ms Smith pointed at the mountainous clock that she had hung up for the occasion. "You have two hours starting...now!"

In a split second, the silence in the class was filled with buzzing activity and everybody jumped into action. I stood rooted to my spot, completely motionless until Tyler tugged at my curls, gently snapping me out of my trance and flashing me an impatient frown.

"Ash! Come on! We have to start!"

Swiftly nodding, I darted around him and emptied the bottom cupboard, spreading six bowls onto the counter before looking at Tyler for directions. He frowned at me, noticing my jittery nerves and pushed me to my side of the counter where we would each prepare three individually coloured cake layers, just like we planned a million times before.

"You know what to do," He clamped a hand on my shoulder. "Stop blinking like a lost puppy and get a move on!"

Tyler snatched three bowls and turned his back to me, already cracking eggs and measuring out the flour while I blinked at the empty bowls in front of me.

"Come on Ashley," I muttered under my breath, hoping to encourage myself although my fingertips continued to drum the graphite surface.

After a while, my eyes found the clock and bulged out of their sockets. I just wasted five minutes loitering around doing absolutely nothing but panic. Tyler had already finished the red cake layer, gently easing it into the preheated oven while I stared at my gleaming, clean equipment with a blank mind.

Shakily, I measured out the flour, butter, sugar, vanilla and then tipped them all into one bowl. I beat the cream mixture until it was slimy; bubbles sprouted out as if I was conjuring up a swamp rather than a cake mix. Still, adamant that I hadn't gone wrong anywhere, I continued to beat my whisk into the bowl.

Wasn't the mixture supposed to be pale and fluffy by now?

A sudden realisation hit me. I forgot to add the eggs.

"No, no, no, no," I cried out loud, biting my tongue when I noticed Tyler glance over his shoulder at me.

"Everything okay?" He called out over the bustling classrom chatter that muffled his voice when it reached me.

"Mmm hmm," I nodded quickly, inducing a dull ache in my neck as curls fell from my messy bun.

Exasperation drowned out my panic and I took a small step back, eyeing the three eggs that lay to the side, blinking at me with betrayal.

What should I do? Add the eggs now or start again?

"Screw this," I grunted, cracking the eggs against the side of the bowl and adding them to the mixture.

Five minutes later and I was still whisking the same bowl while Tyler had moved onto the orange layer, whistling a chirpy tune whereas I was cursing under my breath, going out of my mind with frustration. With a defeated groan, I strode over to the trashcan and tipped the viscous mixture into it; glowering as the lumpy, stringy liquid poured out.

Tyler glanced up, still whistling until he drank in my sour scowl. The chirpy tune dwindled into a low whistle and he slowly planted his bowl onto the counter.

"What's wrong?"

Sea-green eyes flicked to the left, eyeing my untouched green, blue and purple food colouring. They widened a fraction when they slid to the clock at the front of the classroom.

"Ash," He said slowly with panicked eyes. "If we don't get all the layers into the oven in the next twenty minutes, we won't finish on time."

"I know," I picked at the minuscule hole at the hemline of his jersey before plucking up the courage to meet his gaze. "I'm trying but the first one got messed up and time is just flying and I'm kind of panicking right now."

"We've practised this plenty of times, what could possibly go wrong?"

The impatience lacing his tone made my stomach drop like an anvil was weighing me down.

"I don't know," I sighed, trudging away from the trashcan and planting the bowl inside the sink.

Grabbing another one from the nearest cupboard, I sloped back to my side of the work station and started again - this time taking things slow and taking care to reenact every detail that Tyler and I had planned out all the days we baked this cake at his house.

When the vanilla cake mix was fluffy and pale, I added two cups of water and a cup of vegetable oil and then beat the mixture again before separating it into three equal parts. Now that the batter for each layer was in separate bowls, I snatched the three food colours and cracked the lids open, carefully adding three drops to each bowl before mixing them for a minute each.

By the time I handed Tyler the oven tray with my three layers, I was grinning from ear to ear, grateful that everything was going fine now that my nerves weren't ruining everything. He slipped all six layers into the oven and turned around to give me a high five, sharing my sudden enthusiasm since all we had left to do now was to make the frosting.

Although it was planned that I would tackle the frosting since he was on washing up duty, Tyler made no attempt to leave my side when I dumped shortening and butter into a small bowl.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we?" He grinned, toying with my curls as I mixed powdered sugar with vanilla.

"Yup," I popped the 'p', biting back a shiver when his thumb brushed against my earlobe.

"Hey," He breathed, bringing his other hand to hold my earlobe and I froze when he let out a sharp intake of breath. "These earrings...Didn't Taylor give them to you for Christmas in seventh grade?"

I let out a light laugh, surprised that he remembered something from so long ago. The gold snowflake I chose to wear today was the only festive aspect of my outfit, whereas everybody in class - including Tyler - were clad in festive sweaters. I eyed the scarlet, woolly sweater he was wearing and found myself grinning at the fat Santa that mirrored my goofy grin.

"Yeah and you gave me a manky slice of banana cake from your packed lunch thinking I would swoon like the other girls."

He rubbed the back of his neck before tracing the snowflake on my ear with one hand and using the other to lean against the counter.

"I just wanted to impress you."

Adding milk, one tablespoon at a time, I glanced up from the bowl and arched an eyebrow.

"With cake?" I scoffed, though my grin remained intact.

"Not just any cake but banana cake. I figured if I gave you my favourite food, you'd realise you were my favourite person," He chuckled, shaking his head at his twelve year old logic. "But you weren't smart enough to make than connection."

The teasing lilt in his tone didn't distract me from his previous statement which made my heart soar.

"I was so much smarter than you in seventh grade," I retorted with a scoff, suppressing a blush when he tucked a curl behind my ear. I placed the tablespoon on the table and turned my body to the side so we were facing each other. "And was I really your favourite person?"

Tyler slid the small bowl towards him and picked up the whisk, beating the mixture in an attempt to take the focus of my question off him. With an face-splitting grin, I crept around him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He tensed, back muscles rippling beneath the cheek I had buried into his sweater but when he relaxed I squeezed harder until he wheezed.

"Ash...can't...breathe." I let out a ringing laugh, squeezing him before letting go and sighing happily. "Just so you know, you were my favourite person too."

"Really?" Tyler's eyes lit up when he turned around, leaning his elbows against the counter and stretching his legs out.

With a slow smirk, I laughed, "Of course not! Taylor always came first. She gave me the KitKat from her packed lunch everyday. But that banana cake was pretty darn good."

He grunted, though his eyes were still alive and bright.

"Maybe I should have given it to Michelle instead."

I froze instantly, arched an eyebrow and frowned.

"Isn't she like allergic to it or something?"

Tyler's lips tugged up into a cruel smile.

"Exactly my reason."

**

An hour later and we were beside ourselves with panic, yelling at each other to frost the cake faster. Well, I was doing most of the yelling and Tyler kept shooting me death glares as he shakily coated the six layers. We had three minutes until the end of the two hour practical and after I had hastily lifted the layers onto one another, Tyler insisted on the final finishing touch: the frosting.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on," I hummed nervously as he dunked the palette knife back into the bowl of frosting.

"Stop that, you're being annoying," He grunted and his knuckles were white from clutching the knife too hard.

"But there are two minutes and you've only covered half of it!"

Tyler lifted his gaze to shoot me a glare.

"Then stop complaining and help me. Grab another palette knife and maybe we can finish this in time!"

The pressure of finishing on time was turning him into a cranky yeti with the tendency to snap every few moments. I guess I wasn't being helpful by throwing sarcastic comments here and there whenever he made a mistake.

With a huff, I darted to the drawer beside the oven and snatched another palette knife. Together we drowned the rainbow layered cake until there wasn't an ounce of colour to be seen. Perched on the fancy china plate that Tyler had stolen from his mom's collection, the round cake looked like it was submerged in snow - smooth and beautiful.

"Ten seconds class!"

My head shot up to find the source of the sound and I located Ms Smith at the front of the classroom, rubbing her hands together as she scanned the room.

"Five...four...three...two...." She clapped her hands together as the timer on her desk rang. "One. That's it class. Time is up. Step away from your counters."

Everybody continued to fuss over their cakes until our teacher stomped her foot and clapped her hands again.

"I will start docking marks!"

Instantly, everybody froze and jumped back. Tyler continued to smooth the frosting but I shuddered with terror when Ms Smith's gaze landed on our work station.

"Tyler!" I hissed, grabbing a handful of his sweater and yanking him back.

He staggered backwards and it took every ounce of my strength to hold him upright.

"Sorry," He raked a hand through his hair and kept it buried there, providing me with a glimpse of his unblemished forehead, although it was sporting a few worry lines. "I just want it to be perfect, you know?"

I pursed my lips and kept my eyes glued to the front where Ms Smith was still yelling at the class about their inability to follow rules. When she had finished her rant, she beckoned the entire class to the front where we would gather around the first pair: Mona and Blake.

They looked like they had seen a ghost, pale white and terrified because Ms Smith was frowning at their cake.

"Can you explain to the class what you've spent the entire semester creating?"

Blake gulped nervously and I couldn't figure out why my friends were agitated by the sudden attention they were receiving from the class. Their cake looked phenomenal!

"Well, umm, this is a raspberry and lemon cheesecake," He explained, rubbing the hair that curled around his nape before scratching his neck and glancing at Mona for help.

Being the lovely actress she was and the leader of Riverdale High's Drama Club, Mona gave the class a brilliant smile before waving a hand at the cake. Her oozing confidence may have fooled everyone but I took one look at her balled fists and suppressed a wide grin at her nervousness.

"We experimented with lots of cakes but the cheesecake was our favourite so then we played around with different flavours and settled for raspberry and lemon," She paused and handed Ms Smith a knife to cut small slices for everybody.

As Mona talked about the themes she brainstormed with Blake, I spaced out and focused on the cake itself. A double layered cheesecake sat on a scarlet plate, drizzled with steaming chocolate sauce. It was circular with remarkably smooth icing, the edges were dotted with almonds and on the surface lay three raspberries that were dusted heavily with icing sugar.

Everybody rushed forward for a slice and as soon as I took a bite of mine, I raised my eyebrows and swooned.

"This is so good!" I muttered out loud, dazzled by the lingering lemon that refreshed my tongue after the sweet raspberries.

Sparing Tyler a glance, I giggled as he shovelled the entire slice into his mouth in one go. He smacked his lips and shot me a wink when he caught me watching him. My cheeks prickled with warmth and I sheepishly handed him the rest of my slice.

"You don't want it?"

"I'm allergic, remember?" I pointed at the almonds that dotted the edge and he nodded, eagerly shoving it into his mouth and grinning from ear to ear.

Ms Smith graded my friends an A, awarding them with ninety marks out of the total of one hundred and I gave Blake a high five as the class huddled around the next pair.

"That was freaking amazing!" I gushed, flashing him my widest grin as I pushed my hair back. "You have to, have to - have to - bake me that some time!"

He chuckled at my bursting excitement, still dazed from the soaring score they had received for their phenomenal cake.

"Sure thing, but without the nuts or you'll blame me when you get those awful rashes again."

His gaze slid to Tyler who was standing on the other side of me, watching us speak in hushed whispers while the next pair explained their bland, blueberry cake.

The two guys held eye contact for a flickering second but it was enough for both of them to grimace as the past came rushing back. Sea-green eyes wavered, flickering with remorse before they shut down, completely devoid of emotion. They were cold, forcing me to shudder because they reminded me of the way Tyler used to look at me at the start of the year. Pale green eyes flinched, communicating nothing but sadness as nostalgia forced Blake's lips into a frown.

They both looked away, facing the commotion that was starting around Jonah and Simon as they distributed slices of their blueberry cake around the classroom. Mona blatantly refused to have some and Michelle scoffed that she was going to need holy water to wash down the dry, crumbling mess. Jonah didn't bother to approach us so we just remained in an awkward silence whilst people around us coughed up the dry cake.

Needless to say, Ms Smith awarded Jonah and Simon an understandable forty marks which was a grade F.

As we huddled around the next cake, I couldn't help but wince at the tension between the two guys on either side of me. My stomach dropped at the ticking muscle that jumped up and down every time Blake clenched his jaw. His pale eyes flickered around the room and I knew he was recalling the last time he had ever spoken to Tyler. Remembering how Blake had broken down the day when we visited Tyler in hospital, I felt the urge to twist my partner's head off his neck.

If he could let me back in after all these years, couldn't he do the same for his best friend?

Beside his sister and I, Blake was the only other person who ever really understood Tyler. They were two peas in the same pod; annoying, handsome, childish, hilarious and just silly beyond belief.

Was it too late for them to make amends? I guess it was worth a try.

I elbowed Tyler and he frowned, shooting me an irritated glare before I gave him a pointed look. Blake was still watching us so I blinked at Tyler, trying to communicate my message by swivelling my gaze to his former best buddy.

"No way," Tyler mumbled, shaking his head when he understood my secretive message.

I drew my eyebrows together, wondering why he was shying away from an opportunity to mend the broken bridge between the two guys. Raising my eyebrows, I puckered my lips and formed a subtle cross with my forefingers. Tyler's eyes widened with horror and he gulped, wondering if continuing to evade his best friend was worth never getting a kiss from me again.

My stomach fell when Tyler turned back to the class and I tried to act like he hadn't hurt me, but I genuinely couldn't believe that my kisses meant that little to him. I barely slept last night thinking about him and I wondered if once again, I was going to worry that whatever it was that we had going on wasn't completely mutual.

After taking a bite of the creamy sponge cake that was being distributed around the class, Tyler spared me a look and I averted my gaze automatically, desperately trying to conceal my hurt. I heard him sigh heavily and caught him rubbing the crease between his brow before he muttered a curse word under his breath.

"Blake," Tyler called out as the class huddled around the next group's counter.

My jaw clanged to the ground, leaving my mouth wide enough to catch a hoard of flies as I snapped my head to the side.

Pale green eyes flickered around the classroom, narrowing with confusion as they searched for the voice that called his name until they landed on Tyler. Astonishment graced Blake's features, forcing his lips to part as he blinked with confusion.

"Yeah?" Blake's voice came out breathless and he was unable to hold Tyler's haunting gaze so he sought out mine and we shared a look of confusion.

"Nice cake bro."

Three words. Three words. Three words sent my friend and I reeling backwards.

"Umm, thanks," Blake coughed, blinking several times as if to check if this was actually happening but by then Tyler was concentrating on Ms Smith.

I knew from his white knuckles and tight jaw that he was still focusing on his former best buddy. I grinned from ear to ear, rooting myself to the ground in an attempt not to tackle Tyler to the ground and kiss the hell out of him.

He did it. He actually swallowed his pride and did something that meant the world to me. I couldn't believe it. Neither could Blake by the looks of it. He was gawking at me, eyes bright like a kid on Christmas morning as a slow grin stretched his lips up.

As the class shuffled towards Michelle and Dylan's counter, Blake wrapped his fingers around my wrist and held me back. Startled, I spun around to face him until I caught the awestruck grin he wore.

"You," He growled in a low voice, pulling me into his chest as I let out a surprised squeak. "Are amazing, you know that right?"

"I didn't do anything," I chuckled, sliding my arms around his neck and tiptoeing so my chin rested on his shoulders.

"You've changed him Ash," Blake murmured into my hair, squeezing me gently. "You never gave up on him like I did and now you've changed him into a better person."

His words washed over me like the way heat tickles the skin around a campfire, warm and pleasant. I sighed into his arms and glanced over his shoulders, catching a glimpse of sea green eyes watching us. Blinking back tears, I mouthed, "Thank you," and in my head, I thought about the L-word. I thought how much Tyler meant to me and how nothing had changed since ninth grade; if anything, everything I felt for him was so much stronger.

He smiled, sea green eyes warm and soft. My stomach dipped violently at his tender gaze and I nuzzled my face into Blake's neck, smiling at how ecstatic my friend was right now. When a sudden shriek filled the classroom, I pulled away from him and glanced at the sudden commotion that was coming from Michelle.

"But Miss that's not fair! Twenty marks is a freaking fail!"

Approaching the huddle that guffawed at the blackened cake, I peeked over Simon's shoulder and laughed at the charred mess that Michelle and Dylan had tried to conceal using an excessive amount of icing. Ms Smith's face was twisted with disgust and she was fanning her mouth, retching as she yelled at somebody to get her tissue. Unable to keep the slice of cake in her mouth, she rushed to the nearest trashcan and spat it out.

Mona rushed to the storage cupboard and came back with a plastic cup, using one of the sinks to fill it with tap water before handing it to Ms Smith.

"Ha! Even we got more points than you did," Jonah snickered at Michelle, laughing even harder when she shot him a glower.

"Shut the hell up, douchebag!" She hissed before hissing profanities at Dylan for burning their cake.

Swiftly, we moved through the other groups and I began to bite my nails, antsy that the class would be gathering around our cake soon. Why were we last?

Soon enough, I was forced to nervously present our cake to the class but I didn't get a chance to get a word out when Ms Smith gave the snowy white frosting a disdainful look. She had been criticising every cake ever since Michelle and Dylan's bombshell disaster.

"And what in heaven's name is this?" She barked, arching an eyebrow at our cake. "Have you two forgotten the success criteria I laid out at the start of this year? Texture and colour make up half the marks."

Tyler crossed his arms against his chest, cool and collected despite the steel-grey eyes that were picking and prodding at our semester's worth of hard work.

"Yeah, we know," He drawled, raising an eyebrow to match hers. "Just cut a slice and see for damn yourself."

His insolence made her click her tongue but she did nothing to chastise him. Instead she picked up the nearest knife and cut into the cake with a bored expression. Her bland eyes flickered up to us as she cut a slice.

When she pulled out the slice, her astonishment coincided with the silence that fell in the classroom. People who had been chattering beforehand stopped mid-sentence and Blake let out a wolf whistle.

"Holy shit," Simon breathed, grinning from ear to ear as his blue eyes drank in the rainbow cake.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple layers appeared, suddenly providing the cake with the colour that Ms Smith was certain it lacked. The lingering aroma of vanilla filled the classroom, coaxing everybody to huddle closer as they gawked at Tyler and I as if we had just discovered a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

I chewed the inside of my cheek, rocking back and forth on my heels until calloused knuckles brushed against the back of my hand. Tingles prickled all over my left arm and I let out a deep breath when Tyler wove his fingers between mine. Grateful for his comfort, I pursed my lips and kept my gaze glued to our awestruck teacher.

The entire class seemed awestruck and I held my breath as Ms Smith spun around, shock forcing her mouth to hang open before she cleared her throat and blinked several times.

"This is..." She trailed off, lost for words before she coughed and sobered up. "Well let's hope this tastes as good as it looks."

Tyler gulped nervously beside me, suddenly losing his cool when Ms Smith nabbed a piece off with her finger and popped it into her mouth. He squeezed my fingers until I felt the bones in my hand grind together in pain. With a wince, I yanked my hand free and rubbed my sore palms as he shot me an apologetic look.

"Class," Ms Smith turned around and with a small smile, she held the first slice up. "Who's up to taste this cake first?"

Silence fell between our classmates, long and chilling, as they glanced at each other with competitive looks.

And then the shoving began.

***

Tyler and I staggered out of Ms Smith's classroom, both elated by our triumphant pass.

"I can't believe it! We even beat Mona and Blake!" I gushed, squeezing his side as he beamed down at me.

His arm was slung around my shoulders and I let him steer me down the heavily packed corridors towards my locker. The underclassmen jumped out of Tyler's way, parting like the sea Moses walked through and I had to stifle a giggle when he clutched my hands and I pulled me into another one of his crushing hugs.

"I can't wait to tell Rosemary, she's going to shower me with her gross, sloppy kisses." He chuckled into my ear before pulling away and I beamed at him, ecstatic that he was happy and proud of our final grade.

"Would you prefer one of my amazing kisses?" I winked at him, flirtatiously sliding an arm around his waist.

Tyler pressed his index finger on his chin and looked to the left with a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm, I can't quite recall your 'amazing' kisses," His mocked, tapping his chin and sliding his gaze to me. "Care to remind me?"

I glanced around, noting the large groups of students that were rushing to their next class and shot Tyler a sly grin.

"No can do, too much of an audience," I laughed when he raised an eyebrow in defiance.

Turning my back to him, I fumbled with my locker combination, struggling to clear my fangirling thoughts since Tyler had just straight-out asked me for a kiss. I almost jumped when two arms snaked around my waist, gently brushing the bare skin where his jersey failed to meet my jeans when it bunched up around his arms.

"Tyler, stop that. People are watching us."

My voice was supposed to come out stern but I lost my ability to speak when his warm breath lingered on my ear. I spun around, totally prepared to plant my hands on his chest and push him away. Instead, I let him press me against my locker as he placed both his arms against the wall, imprisoning my head. Leaning towards me, he stopped a few inches from my face and gazed at me, his eyes dark and hungry.

They roamed everywhere, drinking in every features: following the curve of my nose, the dip in my Cupid's bow, they even flickered between my half-closed eyelids before coming to an abrupt halt on my lips.

"Tyler we're gonna be late," I murmured incoherently.

I could taste his breath as it washed over me, warm and sweet, sending ripples of heat down my spine. Unable to hold myself upright, I clamped my hands on his waist, hooking my fingers through his belt loops. Pulling him closer, I toyed with the hem of his shirt, desperate to slip my hands under and trace his pocket-watch tattoo like I had fantasised about since first discovering it. Tyler's lips hovered over mine and our breaths mingled together until I couldn't stand the wait any longer.

"Tyler," I growled, frustrated with his teasing. "Can you just kiss me already?"

He pulled back a few inches and arched an eyebrow at me.

"No can do, too much of an audience." Tyler laughed as he threw my words back at me, showering my face with another wave of his warm breath.

I looked over his shoulder, surprised to find the corridors scarce. My eye roll caused Tyler to follow my gaze and I felt a smug smile pull my lips up when he turned around to look at me again. Thinking that I had won, I let my eyelids flutter shut and leaned forward to press my lips against his.

Instead, Tyler tilted his head and dodged past me, burying his head into my neck, working his way up along my jawline until he kissed the sensitive skin below my earlobe.

Then, all too quickly, he took a step back and looked at me with a teasing smirk.

"Come on munchkin, we're gonna be late."

Frustrated, I stood rooted to my spot.

"Since when did you care about being late?" I crossed my arms over my chest, desperately trying to conceal my disappointment but it oozed out through my snippy tone.

Tyler laughed, raking a hand through his hair and using the other to grip his backpack strap. Once his hair was pushed back, he stretched his hand out to me.

"I don't. I just care about you being late." His fingers slid into the space between mine. "And I know that you don't like it when Mr Reid yells at you, even if he is a world class douche."

Tyler's excellent observational skills made me hang my head low for a moment. I just didn't want him to see that I would rather spend the next hour making out with him than to set foot in Mr Reid's class. A detention was well worth Tyler's kisses.

"Fine, lets go." I huffed, hastily grabbing my English notebook.

I really wasn't in a position to complain when I was pressed against Tyler's side again. Sensing my disappointment, he pecked my cheek and rambled on about how proud Rosemary was going to be. I smiled, watching his animated gestures and tried not to gush over the elation in his voice.

"Why don't you call her now if you can't contain your excitement?" I glanced up at him as we hurried across the school courtyard towards the opposite main building.

Tyler peered down at me, his smile small and sheepish.

"I want to see her facial expression so I can memorise it and remember what it's like to actually achieve something worthwhile again."

Two pink spots formed on his cheeks causing my chest to swell up to the size of a hot air balloon, warm and light from the bright sheen behind his sea-green eyes. Heaviness replaced the light warmth when Tyler averted his gaze, shame lacing his voice towards the end. It was enough to weigh me down and for a moment, I struggled to keep up with his long strides, stumbling over my feet.

His fingers tightened around me and we stopped outside my class, giving me time to push away the ache his words caused me. Spinning around, I covered one of his hands with mine and lifted the other to trace his jawline. Tyler's breath hitched when it curled around his neck, toying with his long river of gold strands that glided between my fingers.

Pulling him into a crushing hug, I snaked my other hand around his neck and cradled his head as it was buried into my neck. His warm breath tickled my skin, sending shiver after shiver after shiver down my body until it shot back up and electrocuted my erratic heart. Unable to deal with the stress, my heart thumped against my rib cage until I reluctantly detached myself from his arms.

"You are worthwhile. It doesn't matter if you get a grade A or E, or if you invent the next big technology, fly to space or even if you don't succeed in life. No matter what you do, you are worthwhile Tyler," I cupped his cheeks, tiptoeing to plant a lingering kiss on his mouth. "Rosemary knows that. I know that. And so should you."

Just as I pulled away, the loose hold he had on my waist suddenly tightened, keeping me rooted in place. Surprised, I froze and almost had a heart attack when a hand slid up my back, coming to a halt around my neck. Prickling electricity made me shudder when Tyler pressed me his lips to mine, returning the kiss I tried to comfort him with seconds ago.

All too soon, I was losing myself; completely forgetting where we were and all my thoughts in an attempt to keep up with his fast paced lips. Tyler's breaths came faster and so did mine, neither of us wanting to be the first to break the kiss. But obviously, inexperience made me pull back and press my forehead against his, dazed and disorientated by what had just happened.

"I'll see you later," He smiled, pecking my nose lightly before stepping back and retreating away from my class.

I kept my eyes closed for a second longer, pressing a hand to my lips and smiling at the ghostly pressure I still felt on them. By the time I looked up from the ground, Tyler was already gone but my heart hadn't slowed down the slightest bit.

In a haze, I sloped into English classroom like I was hopping from one euphoric cloud to another. Ignoring the fact that all my peers witnessed that kiss, I strode past Michelle with my head held high and would have skipped to my seat if Mona wasn't grinning at me like a demented madman.

My face was flushed, scarlet and ripe like a tomato. Scratch that, I turned into a tomato from the envious looks girls were shooting me from all corners of the classroom. I willed the skin beneath my cheeks to cool down but Mona's jaw-breaking grin coaxed them to burn brighter as I flopped down onto my seat, took out my stuff and flipped my notebook open.

"Stop looking at me like that! " I grunted after a minute of idly ignoring her demonic stare even though my exasperation made her grin widen. It was enough to split her entire face in half.

Mona's soft features twitched with bubbling excitement and her shoulders shivered with elation. It looked like there was a firecracker inside her, sizzling brightly and on the verge of exploding any moment soon.

"Mona, stop that!"

Her grin reached her ears, bunching up her cheeks until her eyes disappeared.

"Come on, you're scaring me now," I snapped and glared at her.

A long pause fell at our table before the firecracker exploded.

"ThatwasthecutestthingIhaveeverseeninmywholeentirelife!" Mona screeched in one quick rush, throwing her arms in the air just as the entire class turned around at the sudden commotion.

Needless to say, I turned into a tomato again.

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[A/N: External links of the phenomenal rainbow cake on the side. I think you can pretty much imagine Michelle's hellish cake by yourself haha.

Finally, their assignment is over and they aced it woo hoo. I've spent hours going back to previous chapters to assign song(s) to each one because it's an awesome idea and rebekka_mickaelson agrees haha. It's just a few songs and don't be surprised if Taylor Swift crops up a lot because she is basically my life...pretty much. Like, I can't express how asdfghjklasdfghjkl she makes me feel #Swiftie

Chapter 48: Surprise, Surprise, It's My First Time Too.

Till next time; vote, comment and fan.

- Kaddy]